The monster stepped over the severed limbs and came forward. Bai Chen Zhu was pulled up from the ground by a massive force and pushed behind someone. He lifted his eyes slightly and saw the back that blocked his view.
It was Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye said, “You hide first.”
Bai Chen Zhu hesitated for only two seconds before turning to run. “Be careful.”
The monster charged over. Jiang Ye blocked its path and kicked it hard, but it felt like kicking a steel-reinforced concrete wall. The monster shuddered all over but steadied itself.
Jiang Ye raised his machete and slashed swiftly like lightning at the joint of the monster’s right arm. The monster let out an angry roar. After several strikes, a wound finally cracked open in its flesh.
It was even tougher than imagined. Jiang Ye furrowed his brows tightly, changed tactics, raised his gun, and pulled the trigger right at its forehead.
The bullet spun through the air and pierced between the monster’s eyebrows, leaving a deep crater. Pus-like blood gushed from the damaged pit, revealing a black-red interior.
But the monster, insensitive to pain, did not budge and could still move.
Liang Zhi saw no more Alien Race members on the field and seized the chance to rally everyone. “Everyone, attack together! Kill it!”
Over a hundred people surged forward with various weapons. But the monster went against the flow of the crowd, its bulging eyes locked dead on Bai Chen Zhu at the back.
Tang Zhao supported the coughing Bai Chen Zhu as they headed for the door. Seeing the monster about to break through the crowd, Tang Zhao panicked and, with great strength, directly hoisted Bai Chen Zhu onto his back and rushed out the door.
Outside the Grand Theater was a patch of woods, with a large residential area to the right.
Faint commotion came from the woods ahead. Tang Zhao realized something, his face turning grim, and he quickly carried Bai Chen Zhu toward the residences.
Bai Chen Zhu covered his mouth and coughed twice. Worried about whether the people in the theater could handle the monster, he wiped the side of his face. “Enough, we can’t run too far. Jiang Ye and the others…”
“Brother Bai, listen to me!” Tang Zhao interrupted him, his heart pounding like thunder. “That day, Zhuohua Sis and I were blasted away by the explosion and landed on the mountain road. A monster targeted us—it was a sure death.”
“But at that time,” Tang Zhao swallowed, “your Mental Power attracted not just one, but another ‘Zombie King’!”
Bai Chen Zhu’s pupils shrank sharply. Doubting his ears, he grabbed Tang Zhao’s shoulders and demanded, “What did you say! Why didn’t you mention something this important earlier!”
“I saw you and Brother Jiang had your own plans, so I didn’t dare bring it up. I was afraid that if I did, everyone would shrink back into their shells.” Tang Zhao was extremely anxious, his cheeks flushed red as he fled with all his might.
“There is a second ‘Zombie King’ in this Ancient City! It had no Fragment, so it always avoided the ‘big boss.’ That day, it was drawn over and fought the ‘big boss.’ We escaped in the chaos and were later spotted by the Alien Race flying overhead. That monster—let’s call it ‘number two’ for now—never appeared at the Grand Theater, so no one knew of its existence.”
“Anyway, it’s very smart and greedy enough. In the Grand Theater, that Alien Race leader, you, and Bai Tao all used a lot of Mental Power today. Such a strong attraction—I fear ‘number two’ will show up.” Tang Zhao gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down.
Because as they rushed out earlier, he had already sensed the monster’s aura.
—
In the darkness, Tang Zhao carried him through alley after alley, trying to hide between buildings.
As they neared the river, a boom sounded—a heavy thud came from mid-air.
Tang Zhao spun around, his toes lightly tapping as he swiftly retreated five meters. A deep pit formed where he had stood, and a never-before-seen monster appeared before them.
Its pupils glowed an eerie blue, its muscles knotted, but it was a size smaller than the ‘big boss.’ Its body was covered in fine, pale fur, starkly different from the bald ‘big boss.’
Even in the unlit night, it accurately tracked Bai Chen Zhu’s trail.
Tang Zhao looked up at the towering ‘small mountain,’ pulled his right leg back, tensed his body, and whispered almost inaudibly, “That’s it.”
The second Zombie King.
It already saw Bai Chen Zhu as its prey—that being rich with dense Mental Power was like a piping hot roast chicken before a starving man, tempting it to tear and devour immediately.
Bai Chen Zhu clutched the Fragment tightly and quickly scanned their surroundings.
They were in a narrow passage between residences and the river. His Mental Power was actually inferior to Bai Tao’s in attack power, and as for Tang Zhao… he did not believe Tang Zhao’s strength had reached Zombie King level.
Tang Zhao carefully took another step back, widening the distance from monster number two.
“Brother, what do we do?” His mind went blank.
Tang Zhao was not that old and had always been looked after by Jiang Ye and Bai Chen Zhu. Facing such a powerful monster alone for the first time, he instinctively sought advice from the Bai Chen Zhu on his back.
Bai Chen Zhu did not answer immediately; countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
Monster number two advanced a step, pressing closer with heavy menace.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from afar, shaking the ground.
The sound, the commotion—it was obvious who had come.
Monster number two sensed the approacher’s aura, turned its head, and lunged forward preemptively, trying to claim the prey first.
Tang Zhao’s figure flickered. With leaps over bluestone slabs, railings, and balconies, he carried Bai Chen Zhu to the top of a large windmill by the river.
Monster big boss’s figure gradually emerged among the rooftops.
Compared to before, it was now covered in wounds: a bloody hole in its forehead and left chest, its right arm severed, blood everywhere. Its ferocious expression intensified as it stared deadly at the escaped Bai Chen Zhu.
Bai Chen Zhu glanced at this monster, then at the one below, and wryly joked, “I’m pretty popular.”
Tang Zhao was too tense to speak, staring fixedly at the two monsters below.
Who knew if the monsters had grown smart enough to ‘ally’?
A figure vaulted over rooftops in the distance and soon landed on the windmill top.
Tang Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Brother Jiang!”
He saw Jiang Ye covered in blood and gore, unable to tell if he was injured. Shocked, Tang Zhao said, “Why are you covered in so much blood? You okay?”
“It stinks a bit,” Jiang Ye panted heavily, sniffed himself, and brushed it off. “I’ll wash it off when we get back.”
Bai Chen Zhu patted Tang Zhao, signaling him to put him down first. “They’re at a standoff.”
Tang Zhao complied and set Bai Chen Zhu down, then quickly looked. In those two sentences, the monsters below had stopped, sizing each other up.
Monster number two had always feared and avoided the big boss, but now that the big boss had lost the Fragment’s Mental Power boost and an arm, the scrap-picking number two could not sit still.
Monsters often devoured each other. In their eyes, humans, Alien Race, or even fellow Mutants were all edible—and those with Mental Power were the ultimate delicacy.
So they eyed each other as both foe and feast.
To Bai Chen Zhu, the sight of the two massive Zombie Kings confronting under the moonlight was utterly terrifying. Especially those one red eye and one blue—pure, primal ‘hunger.’
“Will they fight?” Tang Zhao itched to cheer if it was a contest.
Unexpectedly, they both chose the tastier prey and lunged at Bai Chen Zhu together, smashing the windmill and splintering the boards.
The windmill, unable to bear the weight, tore apart into fragments.
Escape was instinct. Bai Chen Zhu’s first reaction was to dodge the attack and jump down, missing Jiang Ye’s reaching hand.
He plummeted from the several-meter-high windmill into the water, coughed twice, and opened his eyes to see a massive white-furred blob leaping from above. Bai Chen Zhu covered his mouth and nose, flailed, and dove underwater.
The monster’s powerful upper body landed right in front of him, churning the river. The waves surged, uncertain where they would carry him.
A pull came from behind, yanking him to shore.
“You can’t swim and you jump! I almost lost you!” Jiang Ye scolded in frustration, wiping his drenched face, relief in his eyes after the close call.
In the dark night, they were half-blind, and the rapids were fierce—Jiang Ye’s heart had stopped for a moment.
Bai Chen Zhu coughed raggedly, unable to speak.
He crawled ashore, but then saw a massive hand whistling toward Jiang Ye’s back. He pressed Jiang Ye’s head down toward him, hugged him, and rolled aside.
Monster number two stood in the river, while the unrelenting big boss charged at them with bloodshot eyes.
Jiang Ye grabbed his machete in one hand and half-dragged, half-carried him up with the other. “Go!”
His speed far outpaced Tang Zhao’s. As the monsters attacked, he half-carried Bai Chen Zhu away. Bai Chen Zhu even felt Jiang Ye must have secretly cultivated immortality, so adept at wall-running and roof-leaping.
“This won’t work forever.” Stumbling along, Bai Chen Zhu eyed the sweat on his forehead and spoke rapidly.
Jiang Ye dodged the monsters’ crossed attacks again, reaching out. “Give me the Fragment!”
Bai Chen Zhu handed it over without hesitation, stuffing it into his pocket. “You go first.”
Jiang Ye took the Fragment and leaped to a rooftop before leaving.
Bai Chen Zhu watched his departing back, then faced the two monsters and took a deep breath to steady his ragged breathing.
He had indirectly tricked Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye was not a Mental System Ability User and could not see the silent exchange between him and the Alien Race earlier. He thought the monsters chased the Fragment, unaware that from the moment it entered his hands, he had concealed its aura.
The monsters chased not just the Fragment, but also the Mental Power left on him by the dying Alien Race. And he could not remove that Mental Power for now, meaning they would keep targeting him.
Sure enough, the two monsters ignored the departing Jiang Ye and charged at Bai Chen Zhu.
Using himself as bait, Bai Chen Zhu unleashed his power in an instant. The deeply hidden, vast Mental Power erupted from him.
Like a tiny light becoming a blinding spotlight.
In that moment, extreme greed surged in both monsters’ eyes—one red, one blue—instilling primal human fear.
They lunged in unison, two small mountains heading for Bai Chen Zhu’s rooftop.
Bai Chen Zhu timed it, took half a step back for a run-up, leaped from the roof onto big boss’s fist, dashed up its arm, and reached its bald scalp.
He drew his pistol from his waist and fired into its head.
A muffled bang—brains and filth splattered his clothes. Big boss, in pain, smashed its own head.
Monster number two would not let the prey jump straight into big boss’s mouth, so it unhesitatingly swung a fist at big boss.
Jiang Ye, looking back, grew anxious but soon understood Bai Chen Zhu wanted them to kill each other.
Bai Chen Zhu leaped to number two’s shoulder, darting between the clashing giants like an invisible rope, drawing them closer. Their movements grew restricted, clumsy and laughable.
Rows of residences collapsed, the river roiled, the Moon Bridge’s plaque fell, and the bridge broke.
In the billowing dust, Jiang Ye leaped up and slashed off half of big boss’s neck. The immense force split his palm and shattered the machete, sending it flying.
While Bai Chen Zhu distracted them, Tang Zhao gouged out one of number two’s left eyes.
The two Zombie Kings howled, thrashing wildly—fists and feet flying, shaking the riverbed, flooding the shore.
Bai Chen Zhu, panting, shot out number two’s other eye, blinding it completely.
His muscles ached. He flipped his palms on its shoulder to slide down its back but was flung into the air by its turning arm. A massive hand swooped in—
Big boss’s remaining hand was bloodied, two fingers broken, but it swung with whistling wind.
Bai Chen Zhu barely remembered the details. Mid-air with no footing, he used his last strength to draw his pistol and empty all bullets, hoping to break, snap, or deflect that giant hand.
But it slapped him hard into the river.
Intense pain surged through his limbs. He sank below the surface, river water flooding his nose, ears ringing. In the murky water, he saw the battered giant hand reaching for him.
His heart pounded, pleading with its owner for rescue.
Bai Chen Zhu kicked desperately at the water, trying to escape.
That giant hand grasped him, who had been a beat slow in his movements, and in an instant lifted him into mid-air, just like hoisting a trophy.
Bai Chen Zhu shook off the water droplets from his hair and coughed twice.
The next second, he was thrown toward a foul-smelling, gaping maw.
He widened his sore and painful eyes, using every ounce of his strength.
‘Stop, stop! Stop for me!’
The moon was the only light.
Under this light, the entire world shrank into a pinhole amid the sharp noise, then suddenly expanded. In a few seconds, the monster boss’s action of devouring its food came to a bizarre halt, turning into a pitch-black silhouette under the moon.
Mental power control, the same technique as when he had controlled ability users before.
Now he used everything he had to control a powerful mutated monster.
In that stagnation where even time seemed to stop, a figure leaped into mid-air. He held the dagger that Bai Chen Zhu was all too familiar with, his eyes flashing with cold light. With one slash downward, like a master butcher carving up an ox along the muscle fibers, he severed that clenched giant hand clean off.
The giant hand fell from the air. Bai Chen Zhu quickly pried open the incomplete fingers, stretched his hand upward with effort, and finally successfully grabbed Jiang Ye’s palm that caught him.
Jiang Ye brought him down to the flat ground and hugged him tightly, squeezing until Bai Chen Zhu felt pain.
The long-absent, needle-like pain surged from the depths of his mind—it was the backlash.
He had pushed himself too hard; this backlash from overusing superpowers wouldn’t wait even a moment. Bai Chen Zhu clutched his forehead, trying to hold on to help, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
He feared most becoming a burden, but now, looking at Jiang Ye’s face, he could no longer hold on. He coughed out two mouthfuls of the water he had choked on, and his arm gradually slid down. “Sorry…”
What did that mean? Jiang Ye looked at his snow-white face and tightly closed eyes, and in an instant, his whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar. Breathing rapidly, he shook him like a madman. “Azhu? Azhu! Wake up! I won’t allow you to sleep! Wake up!”
Tang Zhao landed behind him. Seeing his bloodshot eyes and frenzied appearance, he thought something had happened to Bai Chen Zhu. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurried over, incredulously checking Bai Chen Zhu’s breathing before letting out a sigh of relief. “Brother Jiang, calm down. He’s fine!”
Jiang Ye also checked his breathing, sighing in relief while wiping his face as if to save face. “Fuck, what sorry out of nowhere.”
He handed Bai Chen Zhu to Tang Zhao, picked up the knife from Tang Zhao’s hand, and gritted his teeth at the two half-crippled, half-blind zombies wailing and stumbling around. “I’ll go slaughter those two.”
